Yahoo Movies ‘My Best Friend’s Exorcism’ Review: Teen Horror-Comedy Retreads Unhallowed Ground
Stronger in concept than execution, “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” is, as fans of Grady Hendrix’s YA source novel already know, studded with entertaining ideas. But while there’s certainly enough talent involved, the film adaptation can’t seem to coalesce around the cleverness and insight that made Hendrix’s book a bestseller.
Though this is the first feature from director Damon Thomas, he’s had plenty of experience in sharp, female-focused screen horror, as a director and executive producer of “Killing Eve” and “Penny Dreadful.” The same goes for writer Jenna Lamia, making her movie debut after working on shows like “Awkward” and “Good Girls.”
There’s also the unfulfilled promise of lead Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”), who is — through no fault of her own — miscast and misdirected as Abby, a self-conscious high school sophomore in 1988. Abby, who is alienated enough already, is broken-hearted about the fact that her best friend Gretchen (Amiah Miller, “Anastasia”) is moving away. When another friend invites them to spend a weekend at a family lake house, the two girls go off together to explore an abandoned shack nearby. Town gossip has declared it haunted, and the Ouija board the girls have brought doesn’t disagree. So it’s no great surprise (at least to us) when Gretchen winds up possessed by a demon.
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The monster’s aim is to alienate all of Gretchen’s allies, in order to create the most vulnerable host. So she comes to school the next morning in what appears, at first, to be a fairly ordinary foul mood. Soon, though, she’s moved from complaining about teachers to humiliating Abby to poisoning their friends Glee (Cathy Ang) and Margaret (Rachel Ogechi Kanu).
The girls happen to go to a Catholic school, which surely should be an advantage when one’s bestie is demonically haunted. Abby tries to get help, but the nuns are interested only in the girls’ virginity, while the parents don’t want any trouble to mar their carefully-manicured suburban perfection.
She does get confirmation of the situation from inspirational motivator Christian (Christopher Lowell, “Veronica Mars”), who recognizes a possession when he sees one. But since he’s as useless as all the other adults, it becomes painfully clear that Abby’s going to have to save Gretchen on her own.
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Fisher has trouble centering an underdeveloped character, and though the script emphasizes their connection at every turn, the two leads lack the chemistry to make believable BFFs. But Miller, who deftly handles the film’s toughest role, is good enough to ground even the shakiest scenes.Thomas and Lamia try to lean into the lighthearted aspects of the script, and nostalgists will appreciate the bright pop palette and references to Trapper Keepers, Sergio Valente and “parental units.”
The less said about the distractingly terrible wigs and makeup the better, but costume designer Ariyela Wald-Cohain (“Insidious: Chapter 3”) keeps the retro feel going with leg warmers, acid-washed jeans and sweaters ostentatiously tied around necks. The music takes a similarly straightforward approach, with familiar hits from a-ha, Rockwell, Blondie and Culture Club. (Maybe INXS’s “Devil Inside” was too expensive?)
The filmmakers are clearly well aware that demons and high school students are a natural match, but they can’t quite connect the metaphor with the characters. The fact that Abby initially thinks Gretchen was raped reminds us that she’s lost all power or consent over her body. So it’s not as funny as the film suggests when Christian starts the exorcism by rendering her comatose with GHB, forcefully straps her to the bed, and cheerfully sings, “We’re tying up a teenage girl!”
If the film were stronger, it would stand on its own without comparisons. As is, though, the shadow of other work hangs perpetually overhead. And there’s plenty of time for minds to wander from “Stranger Things” to “Booksmart” through “Riverdale” and past “Veronica Mars” before eventually landing — where else? — at “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
The project was produced “in association with” Quirk Books, which also happens to be the publisher of Hendrix’s novel. With every entertainment group raiding their vaults for potential intellectual property, this one was an understandable choice. But unlike its levitating heroine, it never really gets off the ground.
“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Sept. 30.
